Hasenfus worked previously in the Indochina War. Within a few days he was introduced
to Max Gomez ''--the pseudonym of Felix Rodriguez--as one of the Cuban
coordinators of the company. '' Rodriguez (`` Gomez '') took him to the Ilopango air base
security office where he and others hired with him were given identity cards. He now
began work as a cargo handler on flights carrying military supplies to Contra soldiers
inside Nicaragua.@s6@s8
July 29, 1986:George Bush met in Jerusalem with Terrorism Task Force member Amiram Nir, the
manager of Israel's participation in the arms-for hostages schemes. Bush did not want this
meeting known about. The Vice President told his chief of staff, Craig Fuller, to send his
notes of the meeting only to Oliver North--not to President Reagan, or to anyone else.
Craig Fuller's memorandum said, in part:
- SUMMARY. Mr. Nir indicated that he had briefed Prime Minister Peres and had been asked to
brief the V[ice] P[resident] by his White House contacts. He described the details of the efforts
from last year through the current period to gain the release of the U.S. hostages. He reviewed
what had been learned which was essentially that the radical group was the group that could
deliver. He reviewed the issues to be considered--namely that there needed to be ad [sic] decision
as to whether the items requested would be delivered in separate shipments or whether we would
continue to press for the release of the hostages prior to delivering the items in an amount agreed
to previously. - The VP's 25 minute meeting was arranged after Mr. Nir called Craig Fuller and requested the
meeting and after it was discussed with the VP by Fuller and North.... - Nir described some of the lessons learned: `We are dealing with the most radical elements....
They can deliver ... that's for sure.... [W]e've learned they can deliver and the moderates
can't....@s6@s9
July 30, 1986:The day after his Jerusalem summit with Amiram Nir, Vice President Bush conferred
with Oliver North. This meeting with North was never acknowledged by Bush until the
North diaries were released in May 1990.
Early September, 1986:Retired Army Maj. Gen. John K. Singlaub sent a memo to Oliver North on the Contra
resupply effort under Felix Rodriguez. Singlaub warned North that Rodriguez was
boasting about having daily contact '' with George Bush's office. According to Singlaub, this could damage President Reagan and the Republican Party. ''@s7@s0
The Scandal Breaks--On George Bush